Datsun 1000

Datsun 1000

Based on the Austin A50 Cambridge, the PL210 or 1000 sedan was the first Datsun to arrive on U.S. shores in the late 1950s. While the official company name was Nissan, its passenger-car line was Datsun, and all U.S. imports would be so-badged. This particular example is held as part of the Nissan heritage collection, and is a bit battered from winning a round-Australia endurance rally, Datsun's first such motorsport victory. The race team's leader was Yutaka Katayama, a man who would eventually become a household name among Datsun fans as "Mr. K."

The decision to bring Datsun to America was not without its casualties: Shin Maki, a young engineer with the company, lost both of his front teeth after an accident put his head through a windshield during testing in California. Still, the blocky little 37-hp sedan (a R&T review of the time called the performance "melancholy") managed win a drag race with a VW Beetle and the decision was made—the first examples started selling stateside in 1958 for around $1600.

Datsun 1000 Truck

Datsun 1000 Truck

San Diego dealer Ray Lemke sold the very first Datsun Pickup in America, and likely soon regretted it. The customer, a former Navy man named Richard McCutcheon, chased down the tiny little truck as it was being hauled to the dealership and insisted on buying it. Lemke did so, then promptly found out he wouldn't have another model to display for a further three months.

The little Datsun soon had a strong following among gardeners, farmers and California do-it-yourselfers, with a quarter-ton payload, easy-to-park dimensions and decent fuel economy. While America collectively scratched its head at the Datsun 1000 sedan, the tiny pickup truck made solid inroads.